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India look to kick off UK summer with wins

Last Updated 27 June 2018, 07:36 IST

It's the dress rehearsal before the actual test but India would do well not to let the guard down when they take on a lowly but effervescent Ireland in a two-match T20 rubber, starting Wednesday.

The games will mark the onset of a long summer for the Indian team, with sterner tests against England to follow this short series in Malahide on the outskirts of Dublin. England has just hammered Australia in an ODI series and most of their top players are in sublime form.

Perhaps it was a marker of this crucial impending assignment that India decided to stay on and practice in London on Monday.

While the contingent had arrived from Delhi on Saturday, this was a first training session on-tour, held at the Merchants Taylor School cricket ground.

Reportedly, the players were split into three groups while practising all facets of the game.

Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar headed the pace group along with all-rounder Hardik Pandya, while a few others practised fielding drills. Among batsmen, openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan enjoyed the first stint together.

Skipper Virat Kohli and the in-form KL Rahul batted together in adjacent nets against spin and pace respectively.

While Rahul has been a constant part of the T20I squad, Ajinkya Rahane's omission from the ODI squad means that he is once again a contender for the number four spot when the three-match series against England begins on July 12.

Since the tour of South Africa, this is the first time a full-strength Indian team will be seen in action.

Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and MS Dhoni were rested for the T20 tri-series in Sri Lanka in March. The former trio also missed the one-off Test against Afghanistan in Bengaluru recently.

With Rahul in contention for a starting spot in the middle order, Manish Pandey, Suresh Raina and Dinesh Karthik will be left jostling for two spots.

As part of the full-strength Indian side, the three had featured in the T20 series against South Africa. Raina had been used as a pinch-hitting, aggressive number three option, but the current situation might warrant a re-think.

Nevertheless, Raina provides a sixth bowling option as well. India would also not want to drop Dinesh Karthik, who is in sizzling form since March.

It could mean that Pandey eventually warms the bench, despite scoring 255 runs in eight T20Is this year against South Africa, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at an average of 85.

On the bowling front, Kohli will be tempted to field both leg-spinners, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, giving them an early taste of the conditions here.

However, the pace department is an area of concern, as the second-choice fast bowlers have not enjoyed enough game time.

Since the 2017 Champions Trophy, India has played 32 ODIs and 18 T20Is, with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah handling the new ball in 26 ODIs and 9 T20Is.

Umesh Yadav last played an ODI in September 2017 against Australia at Bengaluru. Siddharth Kaul was in the Indian squad for the home ODIs against Sri Lanka in December but was not picked ahead of Bhuvneshwar-Bumrah.

Kaul is also yet to make his T20I debut, while Umesh played his only T20I back in 2012. It remains to be seen if the think tank will bench Bhuvneshwar or Bumrah against Ireland to give other pacers some much-needed overs.

For Ireland, skipper Gary Wilson, former captain William Porterfield and all-rounder Kevin O'Brien are the ones to have T20 experience against an Indian team.

Meanwhile, 31-year-old Punjab-born off-spinner Simranjit Singh will enjoy the spotlight of playing against his erstwhile nation.

The teams (from): India: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Siddarth Kaul.

Ireland: Gary Wilson (c & wk), Andrew Balbirnie, Peter Chase, George Dockrell, Josh Little, Andy McBrine, Kevin O'Brien, William Porterfield, Stuart Poynter, Boyd Rankin, James Shannon, Simi Singh, Paul Stirling, Stuart Thompson.

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(Published 26 June 2018, 11:25 IST)

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